


Read Between the Lines

by poindexters



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Happy Ending, M/M, Making Out, Smoking, bit of angst bit of fluff, implied sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:15:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7789846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poindexters/pseuds/poindexters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Not to pry or anything, but that book you’re holding… well it was the worst 400 pages I’ve ever been forced to read in my entire life. I mean, like, really bad. The kinda bad I wouldn’t even wish on my worst enemy.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Read Between the Lines

**Author's Note:**

> This was one hell of a roller coaster ride.

 “Not to pry or anything, but that book you’re holding… well it was the worst 400 pages I’ve ever been forced to read in my entire life. I mean, like, really _really_ bad. The kinda bad I wouldn’t even wish on my worst enemy.”

Nursey looked down at his copy of Jane Urquhart’s The Stone Carvers, fighting as hard as humanly possible to keep the shit-eating-grin off his face. This ginger kid was kinda cute, but he knew next to nothing about classic Canadian literature if he thought The Stone Carvers was crap. Nursey smoothed his thumb over the book’s worn cover. The spine had been bent from years of wear, the pages dog-eared and highlighted in a different shade each new time he read it. By no means did it hold the title of Nursey’s favourite book, but Ginger definitely didn’t need to know that.

“It’s actually my favourite book,” Nursey said, leaning against the bookcase behind him, “I’ve loved it since childhood.” Ginger’s face dropped into a questioning glare just as the bookcase Nursey was leaning on began to tilt back. It took them both a second to realize it wasn’t bolted to the floor. Ginger grabbed Nursey’s hand, stopping him from falling down with it.

One by one the first bookcase knocked the rest of them down like dominoes. The two boys stood there, looking on in horror at what Nursey had done.

“WHAT THE EVERLOVING FU-”

“Run!” Ginger was still holding Nursey’s hand as they bolted from the library.

~

By the time they stopped running, they were at the edge of the pond. Nursey collapsed on the ground, eyes shaded by the large Birch that marked the center of Lake Quad, while Ginger caught his breathe.

“I’d hate to see what would’ve happened if we were in a chemistry lab,” Ginger said, joining Nursey on the grass.

“Bad things,” Nursey laughed, “I still don’t know your name, by the way.”

“Guess there wasn’t much time for an introduction while we were running for our lives. I’m Dex.”

“Nursey.”

“If you tell me you’re a Nursing student, I’m leaving right now,”

“Nah man, English major,” Nursey tilted his head so he could look at Dex.

“Shoulda guessed. No normal person has that much of a hard-on for Jane Urquhart.”

“Why don’t you read it again?”

“Why the fuck would I read it again? I hated it.” A smirk pulled at the corner of Nursey’s mouth. He couldn’t help but notice a direct correlation between Dex’s frustration and the redness of his ears. It was all the motivation he needed.

“Tell you what. Borrow my copy. I’ve written a bunch of stuff in the margins that might make it a little more interesting.”

Now Dex tilted his head to look at Nursey, and for the first time Nursey noticed the startling amber of Dex’s eyes. The light dappled softly through the overhead leaves, setting the world around him on fire. Samwell could be so beautiful in the fall, but Nursey fancied he’d found something even more breathtaking.

“Give it a shot,” Nursey said, “if you don’t like it this time you’ll never have to hear or see me again.”

“I really hope I like it then,” Dex bit his bottom lip. They were about as subtle as the most unsubtle thing in the world, whatever that happened to be.

~

The next time they saw each other was at Faber. The Samwell men’s hockey team was playing a game against Yale, and a big part of the student body came out in support. Even Wellie the dancing well made an appearance. 

“Is this seat taken?” Dex was easy to spot in a crowd, and Nursey had bee-lined the second he caught sight of him in the stands.  

“It’s your lucky day,” Dex slid over an inch to make more room for Nursey. 

“What do you think of the book so far?" 

"I hate to say it, but it’s just as horrible the second time around. And your notes… sorry to break it to you but they aren’t really notes. You practically wrote an entirely new novel. What’s the deal, man?" 

"The book gave me an idea and I rolled with it. Remember the old couple that Tilman meets at the beginning of his journey? I wanted to know more about them. I wanted to write  _their_  story, so I did." 

"It’s good,” Dex said just as Samwell scored the first goal of the game sending Faber into chaos. 

“Really?” Nursey asked once the excitement had died down. 

“Yeah,” Dex said. “I don’t know, you made them seem more human I guess. More real. They stay together through the death of their child, through losing their money, their land. Their lives are so far from perfect, but they still manage to find happiness. If you change the character names, you could probably get it published.”

“I’ve never shown it to anyone before,” Nursey said. 

“So you show it to the guy who hates the book it’s based off of?” Dex laughed. Nursey loved his laugh already. It felt like happiness in the rawest form. 

“There’s something about you I guess,” Nursey said, “Just keep reading. I’ve got class in a bit but I’ll see you around Dex." 

"Yeah, see you around." 

~

The way they kept running into each other didn’t feel very accidental after a while. Samwell had a big campus, and they lived on opposite sides of it, but neither of them really seemed to mind all that much. They swapped numbers, began studying together, going to parties together, running from the librarian together. They were polar opposites, and Dex would pick a fight with Nursey over any little thing, but when it came down to it, they were virtually inseparable. Within a short couple of months they fell into the easy rhythm of a friendship built over years.

“My problem is that he sees me as a friend, Lardo,” Nursey said. They were sharing a blunt on the roof of the hockey Haus in the heat of a particularly wild kegster. Nursey wasn’t a hockey bro, but Lardo managed the team and made sure he knew whenever a Haus party was going down. They were significantly better than those thrown by the lacross bros, and they gave him an excuse to get high.

“I’ve hung out with you two, and that boy is about as straight as a Bitty,” she said, “even if he doesn’t flaunt it the same way.”

“It’s not that I think he’s straight, I know he’s not, but… I don’t think he realizes I’m in love with him.”

“Why don’t you just tell him bruh?”

“I can’t just TELL him Lardo!” He said, passing her the joint.

“Why not?”

“‘Why not?!’ Because… fuck I guess you got a point.”

“Yeah bitch, I’m switching my major to psych so I can charge for my bullshit advice,” Lardo laughed.

“You’re talents are truly wasted as an artist.” Nursey got up from where he sat, kissing Lardo on the cheek before climbing back through the window.

~

The Haus teemed with life; moving bodies pressed up against each other, music blaring loud enough to wake the neighbours or attract the cops. The scent of stale tub juice and beer hung low like a cloud of smog over the mass of drunken college kids, and Nursey stood on the stairs for a moment just taking it all in. The world at his fingertips. He liked his life, he was happy, and if he could only find Poindexter in the throngs of people, he knew he would be even happier.

After searching the living room with no luck, he migrated to the kitchen with the intent of grabbing a drink. Empty solo cups littered every counter in sight, and a couple were making out pretty intensely against the fridge. Nursey rolled his eyes before stepping up to them.

“Don’t mind me, just grabbing a— Dex?” The world came falling to his feet. Dex was backed up against the fridge, his hands running through the hair of a guy Nursey recognized from his classics lecture. When Dex looked at Nursey, time stalled. From that point on everything felt fuzzy, as though they were in a dream, a nightmare. He was going to tell Dex that he loved him. He was going to tell Dex that time was an illusion, but he still wanted to spend all of his with him. He was going to tell Dex that he’d burn every copy of The Stone Carvers just to keep him warm.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

~

A string of things occurred after Dex and Nursey locked eyes, but most of that was lost in translation. Nursey was high as a kite when he ran out of the Haus, tears streaming down his face _. You have no fucking right to feel this way,_ he thought. _Dex doesn’t owe you shit and he can kiss whoever he damn well pleases._ But this line of thinking only served to make Nursey feel miserable, and without even intending to he found himself standing outside of Dex’s dorm. 

Dex wasn’t there of course. Nursey had left him at the party despite how many times Dex called after him to stop. _If he gave even the slightest shit about me, he would have followed_ , Nursey thought, sliding his fingers above the doorframe to find the extra key. He would wait up for Dex. He didn’t know what he would say when he saw him, but he had time enough to think.

~

Nursey woke up breathing in the scent of Dex. For a moment he revelled in it, letting the waves wash over him, soaking up the feeling of Dex’s bed under him and the sunlight streaming in through the open curtains. A second later and the events of the previous night came back into blinding focus, hitting Nursey like a brick to the face. And then the implications set in. Dex hadn’t returned to his dorm at all. Dex hadn’t followed him when he ran off. Dex was probably wrapped up in another man’s arms as Nursey came to all these conclusions.

At some point Nursey must have taken off his shirt and surrendered to sleep, despite his resolve to wait up for Dex. He was certain he’d thought of what to say, but it all escaped him now.  
  
Just then the lock on the door clicked. Dex entered, pushing it open with his hip. He was wearing the same clothes as the night before, however more dishevelled. Red stubble covered his jaw, and Nursey almost forgot why he was upset in the first place.  
  
"Nurse,” Dex’s voice was raspy and low, the lovechild of a hangover and sleep deprivation. “What are you doing here? And what happened last night, you ran out of the Haus without saying a word.” Dex pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it on a chair before retrieving a clean button up from his closet.  
  
“I can’t do this right now,” Nurse said, getting up to go. He wasn’t sure exactly where his own shirt went, but he didn’t really care. He thought he could face Dex, but Dex didn’t realize he’d done anything wrong. Technically he hadn’t.  
  
“Wait!” Dex stepped in front of the door placing a hand on Nursey’s chest. “Can’t do what? You haven’t told me anything, and you were acting weird as shit last night.”  
  
“Dex, please-”  
  
“No. Fucking tell me what’s going on.”  
  
“It’s chill,” Nursey took a step back. "Leave it.“  
  
"If I upset you I want to know!”

Nursey didn’t say anything. He wanted this conversation to be over. He wanted to go back to his stupid little life already. In fact, he wanted to go back to before he met Dex. ‘Better to have loved and lost?’ Bullshit. How was he expected to face every day with the knowledge that Dex didn’t love him back.  
  
“Nursey-”  
  
“Fine! You fucking upset me!” Nursey yelled. “You and that jackass making out against the fridge like it was nobody’s damn business.”  
  
“That’s what you’re angry about?” Dex looked stunned. “It’s taken me this fucking long to accept who I am, and you’re shoving me back in the closet?”  
  
“What? No, I-”  
  
“Because if you have a problem with me kissing boys, you-” Nursey shoved past him and into the hall. When he reached the stairs he took them two at a time. He wanted to get away from everything. He wanted to get high or drunk or fucked into the next dimension. He didn’t care anymore, and he wanted the world to know.  
  
~  
  
A week or so later, Lardo showed up at Nursey’s door.  
  
“You’re skipping class, you’re always high, and you haven’t been returning my calls. I need an explanation and I need it now.” Nursey would never get over how big Lardo could seem for someone standing less than five feet tall. She didn’t ask for space, she demanded it.  
  
“I had a fight with Dex,” He said once they were settled shoulder to shoulder on his bed.  
  
“But you always have fights with Dex.”  
  
“Not like this one. I haven’t spoken to him in a week, and he sure hasn’t made any attempts to contact me.”  
  
“Shit bro. Musta really fucked it up this time.”  
  
“I inadvertently convinced him I’m a homophobe.”  
  
“Smooth move ex-lax, how’d you manage that?”  
  
“It’s complicated…” Lardo shot him a look. “God, I don’t even know. I only have a problem with him kissing boys when he’s kissing boys that aren’t me.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t tell him that?”

“How could I?” Nursey sighed. They sat in silence for a moment.

“Did you ever finish writing that story of yours?” Lardo asked, breaking the silence, “the one about the man and the women from the end of that novel?”

“Not really. The thing about writing that story was that I knew the ending before I even began. It had already been written for me.”

“I thought what you liked about being a writer was the fact that you could change things?”

“Maybe some things aren’t meant to be changed,” Nursey said. He knew where Lardo was going with this, or at least he thought he did.

“Maybe you’re too busy looking for poetry and symbolism in places it doesn’t belong to realize that he’s in love with you too.”

~

Nursey knocked tentatively on Dex’s door. He was wearing his nicest clothes: jeans that cost more than his philosophy textbook, and a blazer over the black dress shirt he saved for special occasions. He’d prepared a speech, even brought cue cards, but when Dex opened the door all that went out the window.

“Please let me explain,” he said. Dex stared at him like he was insane, but eventually opened the door and gestured for him to come inside.

“So?” Dex was leaning against his desk, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Nursey sat on the edge of the bed staring intently at his feet.

“You were right,” Nursey began, “I do have a problem with you kissing boys.”

“Fuck, Nurse, if you came all this way just to tell me-“

“I have a _problem_ with you kissing boys because I have a problem with you kissing anyone who isn’t me,” Nursey looked up at Dex, waiting for impact.

“You…” Dex’s face fell. He looked as though he were figuring out complex section of code. And then everything clicked. There was silence, and then there was Dex moving across the room and wrapping his arms around Nursey’s neck, legs straddling his thighs, mouths pressed together too hard to feel like a real kiss. Nursey melted into it, curving his hands down the length of Dex’s back, cupping his ass and pulling him even closer. This wasn’t what Nursey expected to happen, it was even better. When Dex pushed him back against the bed and began trailing his teeth down Nursey’s neck, he knew this wasn’t a dream.

“Does this mean—”

“Yes, Derek. God, I love you so much.” Dex whispered into his neck.

“So are we—”

“Boyfriends?” They were both breathing hard, and as much as Nursey wanted to go back to kissing Dex, he needed to know.

“Do you want to be?” Dex set the whole world on fire with just one look. Nursey knew this was it for him. No one else could make him burn the way Dex did.

“Yes.”

Nursey’s heart spun. When they kissed again, it was every love poem Nursey had ever written. He tasted galaxies and ash on Dex’s lips, the product of stardust and time, and he wondered if he ever really knew what coming home felt like until now.

 


End file.
